In June 2021 I was treated at Royal Hallamshire in Sheffield following brain surgery which I planned to have due to suffering with an neurological condition called Trigeminal Neuralgia since I was 17. Trigeminal Neuralgia is sudden severe facial pain which normally occurs in the teeth, jaw or gums. It causes electric shock type pain and sharp shooting pains. I had Trigeminal Neuralgia as I was born with a small skull which meant that on my right side of my brain my Blood vessel and Trigeminal nerve was overlapping like a figure of 8. After suffering for over 5 years and taking over 20 tablets daily and not being able to function I was told at the age of 21 I would need brain surgery to separate my blood vessel and Trigeminal nerve.

On the 17th June 2021 I was admitted into The Royal Hallamshire hospital in Sheffield for my surgery which would be performed by Mr Battacharya. The surgery was meant to be about 4 hours long and I would stay in the hospital for 3-4 days and then be allowed home. Unfortunately that’s not how it went, on the 17th June my surgery took 9 hours and I went straight to Intensive care to recover. The next day on the 18th June in the morning I was unresponsive and the doctors found fluid on my brain, so they rushed me into theatre to have a drain fitted. Following this they found my brain started to swell which meant they needed to perform a further surgery to remove part of the skull. 

I was then put into an induced coma for 5 days in order for my brain and body to recover. During this time I contracted pneumonia. I was put onto a ventilator to support me through the recovery. 

I was eventually taken off the ventilator once I had regained enough strength to cope on my own. Following this the nurses helped me learn how to do basic tasks again like swallowing water, speech therapy, and eventually sitting up, standing up and walking again. I was then allowed to return home. During this time, the scar from my first operation began to swell which required a fourth surgery to insert a shunt allowing my body to take the fluid away from my brain. I was back in the hospital for a further 5 days before returning home again. 

I was placed on a strict tablet regime to assist my recovery which gradually reduced over 3 month to the point where I no longer needed them. A year on, I have regained the ability to speak fluently, walk and physically exercise, and do all basic tasks without supervision. 

To mark the year anniversary of my surgeries I wanted to raise money for the charity Neurocare, Neurocare support and fund the Neurology wards across the hospitals in Sheffield. I was treated in Neuro ICU for 2 weeks and then moved onto the Neurology ward and even though I can’t remember all the nurses names I will never forget how they made me feel, I was confused and scared and they constantly made sure I was comfortable. They did many things to make sure I felt at home such as putting the first episode of love island on for me and gathering nurses in my room to create an atmosphere so we could watch England in the Euros. They would play my favourite music and talk about all the food I would be able to eat once I was strong enough. The surgeon who performed my surgery is Mr Battacharya and I don’t think me or my family will ever come across a man as special as him. We will never be able to show our gratitude towards Mr Battacharya for saving my life.

 To raise money for Neurocare I will be walking up Scafell Pike which is the highest and the most prominent mountain in England, I will be doing this with my amazing family and friends who have been with me through this journey and I’m so grateful to them all.